Thanks Mownie, thorough post. I purchased a couple of inline shutoffs last time I did a parts order online. They were originally for my snow blowers, but I think I'll be putting one to use for this Toro. That's definitely a sure way of stopping the fuel flow. As for the function of the solenoid valve, I appreciate your explanation. I'll have to see how the seat of the needle looks, or perhaps just rebuild the carburetor to be safe. The small engine ship that I purchased the engine from claimed the carb. was dipped before they shipped it. The sheared flywheel key makes since, that would throw the timing off enough to cause the backfiring, odd exhaust behavior and stumbling on acceleration/deceleration. I'll have to get the exact Model Number on the valve cover for torque specs on the flywheel bolt. I've had my trusty 38" Wizard for almost 20 years now. I figured I'd revive the nice, newer Toro and save it from the scrap yard. Hopefully all this trouble will pay off in the end... Thanks again, Nick

tom thanks, one is on the way, although I'm still interested in thoughts on what could cause this. Once I've got the new one, I can bench the old one anyway and see if I can figure anything out. I'm also trying to compare these transmissions for durability and torque to the Peerless 205-024x and the Spicer 093264. These are hyrdrostatics with pedal shift, i.e. push pedal forward to go forward and backward to go in reverse. I might like to convert this tractor, maybe by buying a parts machine, but I do haul a york rake with it regularly so I'm pulling harder than I do with just mowing using these hydrostatics and if they aren't up to it, then wouldn't be worth the time. If they are, esp. the 205-024x which is from a similarly heavy 46" wide body Murray 2 cylinder, then I really prefer the pedal shifting option. Thanks, Brian

I vote for PP Cooking Across America also! Here are some of my family's fav.s. **Monkey Bread 3 cans buttermilk biscuits 1 c. ice cream, vanilla 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 stick butter 1 c. brown sugar Tear biscuits into bite size pieces. Place in a bundt-type pan. Melt together the remaining ingredients and pour over the biscuits in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or when golden brown on top. Tip out onto a serving plate. **Best Barbecues 3 lbs hamburger, browned, drained salt & pepper to taste 1 tsp onion powder 1/2 c. catsup 1 can tomato soup 1 can chicken gumbo soup 1 tsp chili powder 2 tbsp vinegar 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp mustard Simmer all ingredients for 2 hours. Works best in crock pot. **Easy and sooo good Hot Dip 1 can chili without beans 1 pkg. cream cheese 1 lb Velveeta Heat all ingredients and mix well. Serve with tortilla chips. Works great if you cube the velveeta and put all in a crock pot. **Easy Lasagna 16 oz. can tomatos 12 oz. can V8 Juice 6 oz. can tomato juice 1 tsp. Basil 1 pkg. dry spaghetti mix 1 1/2 lb. Hamburger 1 small container Cottage Cheese 1 pkg. mozzerella cheese 8 oz. uncooked lasagne noodles Parmesan cheese Mix tomatoes, v8 juice, tomato juice, basil and dry spaghetti mix. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Mix cooked and drained hamburger and sauce. In a 9 x 13 inch pan, layer, starting with hamburger mix, then noodles, cottage cheese, nooodles and end with meat mixture. Top with Mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 20 minutes before serving. Can be frozen after baked. **Cocktail Meatballs 1 lb. raw hamburger 1/3 c. minced onion 1 egg beaten 1 tsp. salt 1/2 c. dried bread crumbs 1/4 c. milk 1 T. parsley flakes 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce SAUCE 1 10 oz. jar grape jelly 1 8 oz. jar chile sauce Make bite size meatballs. Brown. Place in sauce. Heat together until jelly melts. Simmer for 30 minutes or use crock pot. **Scalloped Potatoes and Ham 6 med. potatoes 3 tbsp butter 1 sm onion, finely chopped 3 tbsp all-purpose flour 1 1/2 c. cubed cooked ham 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 1/2 c milk 1 tbsp butter Heat oven to 350. Grease 2qt casserole. Thinly slice potatoes to measure 4 cups. Heat 3 tbsp butter in 2 qt. saucepan over med. heat. Cook onion in butter about 2 min.s, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly, remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Spread potatoes and ham in casserole, cover with with sauce. Dot with 1 tbsp butter. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 60-70 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender. Let stand 5-10 min. **Potato Salad 6 med. potatoes 1 1/2 c. mayo 1 tbsp. vinegar 1 tbsp. mustard 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 med stalks celery, chopped 1 med onion, chopped 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped Boil potatoes until soft (30-35 min.) Cool slightly and cut into cubes. Mix mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in large glass or plastic bowl. Add potatoes, celery and onion, toss. Stir in eggs. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. **Taco Salad 1 head lettuce, shredded 1 lb. hamburger, cook & drain 8 oz. Shredded cheddar cheese 1 can Kidney Beans 4 tomatoes, diced 1/3 c. sugar Taco Flavored Chips (Doritos) Taco Seasoning (1 pkg.) 8 oz. bottle Thousand Island Dressing 1 tbsp Taco Sauce Brown hamburger, add taco seasoning (saving 1 tbsp.) Layer lettuce, Kidney Beans, Hamburger, Cheese, Tomatoes, and end with chips on top. Mix Thousand Island Dressing, 1/3. cup sugar, 1 tbsp taco seasoning, and one tbsp taco sauce. Add this mixture RIGHT before serving and toss to coat. **Easy Chocolate Dessert 1 c. flour 1/2. c chopped pecans 1/2 c. melted butter 1 8 oz. softened cream cheese 1 c. powdered sugar 1 9 oz. carton Cool Whip 2 pkg. intant choc. pudding 3 c. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla Crust: Blend flour, nuts, melted butter. Pat in 9 x 13" pan. Bake 15 min. at 350 degrees First Layer: Beat the cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar in one cup of the Cool Whip. Spread on cooled crust. Second Layer: Combine pudding , milk, and vanilla. Beat well and spread over first layer. Third Layer: Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the 2nd layer. I like to sprinkle crushed Heath or Skor bars on top. **Never Fail Pie Crust 3 c. flour 1 1/4 c. shortening(crisco) 1 egg white, unbeaten 5 tbsp. cold water 1 tsp vinegar 1 tsp salt Sift flour and salt. Use fork or pastry fork to mix or cut in shortening. Mix egg white, water and vinegar in a cup, with a fork. Add to flour mixture. **All American Apple Pie 1 c. sugar 2 tbsp. flour 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp lemon juice 5 c apple slices or cubes 2 tbsp butter Combine sugar, flour, spices, salt and lemon juice. Add apples, toss to mix. Put into pie crust and cover. Bake in oven (350) until done. **Death by Chocolate 1 dark chocolate cake mix 16 oz. Cool Whip 4 c. chocolate pudding 6 Heath or Skor bars, crumbled Bake chocolate cake mix as directed and cool completely. Crumble 1/4 of cake in a large bowl. Dollop 1/4 of Cool Whip on top. Dollop 1 c. of the chocolate pudding next, and 1/4 of the crumbled candy bars last. Repeat layers. Keep refrigerated. All I can say is, mmmmmmm!!! Ok, I better stop for now. I'm so excited about this cookbook. Thanks so much Tracy and Sassy for such a great idea, and for the work you are putting into this! Have a great day! Karen

If you have shoe brakes in the rear, check out the self adjusters therein. These may be jammed and need to be cleaned and lubricated. After freeing up and cleaning the adjusters, re-assemble the drums and ajust the shoe brakes. Then check the fluid resevoir on the master cylinder and top off if needed. After the first application of the brakes, the shoe brakes may not be returing fully and the next time you apply the brakes, all seems well. But, with road shocks, the shoes may drift all the way back to their stops and then it will take extra pedal movement to push them against the drums. Also, you may have a parking brake cable that is draging in its housing. It should be free to slide. If not, replace. While you are into the brakes, inspect the return springs. if these are in bad shape, replace.